Jersey: Sunshine state of mind (2/2)

4/27/2016 – From a numbers point of view, the Polar Capital Jersey Open might not impress, but what it lacked in quantity, it made up in quality with several grandmasters and masters, and a conviviality that such intimate affairs produce. Add to that the lovely views and a promise next year to be played in a castle, and it becomes an event to add to your calendar. Pictorial and analysis.

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Mixing chess with pleasure (actually, isn't this a pleonasm?!) the Jersey way could be one of the secrets behind this lovely tournament, as many attractive 'extras' were organized on site: a Blitz event and a simul kindly offered by Jovanka, while the mesmerizing and rather unusual landscapes were there for your eyes to lay on.

There are some things you learn best in calm...

… and some in storm.

One of the most amazing parts for me was the Jersey's tide. Its harbor is totally
transformed in a very short space of time by the arrival or departure of the sea.

Tide and time wait for no man

Sometimes wine is just necessary, especially in Blitz!

Or after a rough and well-deserved tournament win!

Even though it was scheduled during the tournament, Jovanka did her utmost to sustain
the chess passion among the Jersey's kids – a simul played with clocks! Besides good
moves, Jovanka had to show her running skills too.

Everyone loved the evening and if I look at Jovanka's expression, I would say she enjoyed it
too! But then there was this morning game next day against yours truly...

Coaching and playing at the same time is quite a demanding
activity, perhaps the reason why Tiger couldn't show all the
weapons from his arsenal.

Since our chess brain needs some breaks as well, discovering the island's beauty and history could be a good starting point.

The sea does magic with an overstretched chess brain

Low tide but...

… a boat in the middle of the town?

Being very close to the western shore of France and not far from England, the island of Jersey could have been a good strategic base for the French, British or Germans in their quest to conquer new territories. They all left their mark on the island and nowadays hundreds of high historical landmarks can be admired by tourists: cannons, towers, castles, fortifications, walls or tunnels, all of which bear a special historical load. If you combine that with a cozy chess event, I guess we have a winner for your next trip?!

Chances are that right after landing, you will be taken on a sudden scenic tour! The hotel can wait.

Our arbiter, IA Adam Raoof, made sure the chess part ran smoothly

Glenn - L'Ami

[Event "Polar Capital Jersey Open"] [Site "chess24.com"] [Date "2016.04.14"] [Round "6.4"] [White "House, Glenn L"] [Black "L'Ami, Alina"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2213"] [BlackElo "2348"] [Annotator "AA"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "8/2p5/P1kb4/1np2pp1/K1Np4/3PpPPp/4P2P/4B3 b - - 0 45"] [PlyCount "19"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "England"] [BlackTeam "Romania"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ENG"] [BlackTeamCountry "ROU"] [WhiteClock "0:01:54"] [BlackClock "0:09:05"] {After quite an interesting strategic battle in the opening and middlegame, it was about time for Black to harvest, so I went:} 45... Nc3+ {planning that after} 46. Bxc3 {to go not what followed in the game} dxc3 ({but} 46... Bxg3 { instead, as} 47. a7 Kb7 {leads to nothing but a totally winning position for yours truly. The black pawns' chain is incredibly strong and there is nothing White can do to stop the malvolent plan of collecting the h2 pawn and then queening. No idea what has happened to my brain, besides the fact I decided to take a shortcut since I honestly believed the ensuing pawn endgame after 46... dxc3 should be winning much easier...Was it?!}) 47. Nxd6 cxd6 48. Kb3 Kb6 49. Kxc3 {All fine, until I went astray with} d5 $2 {Obviously my last move was meant to meet 50.d4 with 50...c4, where I thought Black should be kind of winning. Even in the worst possible scenario, I can still give up the c-pawn and enter with the king to the weak d4-pawn. I was so convinced of my wrong opinion that my opponent missed his chance, perhaps precisely because of that reason?} ({The right way to go was} 49... Kxa6 50. d4 ({If} 50. Kc4 {the only way to win is with} f4 $1 (50... Kb6 $2 51. d4 f4 52. gxf4 gxf4 53. dxc5+ dxc5 54. Kc3 {with a draw, as mentioned in a similar line below.}) 51. gxf4 gxf4 52. d4 cxd4 53. Kxd4 Kb5 54. Ke4 d5+ $1 55. Kxf4 d4 56. Ke4 Kc4 {which is also transposes to a line underneath; Black is winning.}) 50... Kb5 51. dxc5 Kxc5 $1 (51... dxc5 $2 {would again hand White half a point as there is no way Black can breakthrough! A sample line:} 52. Kb3 c4+ 53. Kc3 Kc5 54. Kc2 Kb4 55. Kb2 c3+ 56. Kc2 Kc4 57. Kc1 Kb3 58. Kb1 c2+ 59. Kc1 {And now a handshake would do.. . impossible to avoid stalemate.}) 52. Kd3 f4 53. gxf4 gxf4 54. Ke4 d5+ 55. Kxf4 d4 56. Ke4 Kc4 57. f4 Kc3 58. f5 d3 59. f6 dxe2 60. f7 e1=Q 61. f8=Q Qb1+ {and now with a couple of smart checks, the point should go into Black's pockets. Somehow I feel that calculating all of it with 30 seconds on the clock is not so easy. That means I should have definitely taken on g3, forget about the piece and simply roll the pawns over! And I should study some more pawn endgames too...} 62. Ke5 Qb5+ 63. Ke6 Qc4+ 64. Kd7 e2) 50. f4 $2 {This move is too committal, since there will be no more fortresses in the position - Black can go around the board and enter via h5-g4-f4.} ({A draw would have been achieved after} 50. d4 c4 51. Kb4 f4 {Aimed to protect the e3-pawn in a line that will be reveled further on.} 52. gxf4 gxf4 53. Kc3 Kxa6 54. Kb4 Kb6 55. Ka4 c3 {Black has to sacrifice the pawn to be able to enter with the king.} 56. Kb3 Kb5 57. Kxc3 Ka4 58. Kc2 $1 {opposition} Kb4 59. Kd3 Kb3 {stalemate again.}) 50... gxf4 51. gxf4 Kxa6 52. d4 c4 53. Kb4 Kb6 54. Ka4 Kc6 {Pfiuu, the morning game was over:)} 0-1

Note the tournament sponsor's cap – I like such details and shame on me I didn't picture
the pen we were offered, which was pretty as well.

Next year, one round will be played in the castle, after all it is the royal game we are playing!

And we will have such views...

… while a bit further away the coastline is waiting for you too!

Small only in size, the Polar Capital Chess Festival of Jersey had rewarded us inversely proportional. Just like all the little dots put together can create an à la Van Gogh masterpiece, the Jersey tournament became an event to remember. That was inevitable, just like my participation next year!

Alina l'AmiAlina is an International Master and a very enthusiastic person in everything she does. She loves travelling to the world's most remote places in order to play chess tournaments and report about them here on ChessBase! As chance would have it Alina is also an excellent photographer.

See also

7/30/2017 – In this second part of the report on the Guadeloupe Open, you will be treated to more gorgeous scenery, all captured in large high-res imagery, together with instructive chess analysis, including one game that brought up memories of.... Bogoljubow against Lasker. It is just one more example of why knowing one's classics can never be repeated enough. Enjoy this scenic chess lesson!

See also

4/29/2017 – A chess paradise must be something like this idyllic setting with gorgeous sunsets and sunrises, clement weather and beautiful beaches, with chess to boot. Concluding her account of the event, people, food, and games, here is the large illustrated report with plenty of high-resolution photos by Alina L'Ami.

Video

On this 60 mins video we are going to concentrate on a simple, very solid idea in the main line Scandinavian, which even Magnus Carlsen has used to win games. Black focusses on making his life easy in the opening and forces White to work very hard to get advantage – but it is doubtful if White can get an advantage. Club players are always on the lookout for effective, time-saving solutions and here we have just that. Accompany FIDE Senior Trainer and IM Andrew Martin on this 60 mins video. You can learn a new opening system in 60 mins and start to play it with confidence on the very same day!

Discuss

Hi Alina, thank you for uploading all these photos. I played in this tournament and won Top Junior. Could you please give me a permission to use this photographs and make a video? Thanks Aditya Vanjare